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The Burden Of God: Studies In Wisdom And Civilization From The Book Of Ecclesiastes

by Michael W. Kelley

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Douglas Wilson, Credenda/Agenda, Vol. 5, No. 6, p. 22
Michael Kelly has provided the church with a very useful antidote to the prevailing confusion. Far from being a nihilist document of despair, which is brought finally to a reluctant and grudging theism, the book of Ecclesiastes is the wisdom of God, and is a triumphant vindication of God's wisdom over against humanistic attempts at wisdom "under the sun". The author of Ecclesiastes is writing from the context of God's covenant with His people, and is entirely faithful to that covenant.

Chistopher L. Stamper, The Blue Banner, September-October, 1993, p. 2
"The Burden of God" is a good first lesson in how to think Christianly. Kelley wrote it primarily as a textbook for pastors or teachers who will be teaching about Ecclesiastes. Since many in Evangelicaldom have had a steady diet of shallowness, bad theology or pietism, this book calmly and thoughtfully challenges, without unnecessary harshness, many assumptions that are often taken for granted.

R.J. Rushdoony, Chalcedon Report, November 1993, p. 44
It is a delight to read the work of a major new Christian thinker, a man on our side, and a man of great ability. Michael Kelley's The Burden of God ... is a major work and a delight to read.... This book is one to read and re-read.

C. Van Dam, Clarion, Nov. 4, 1994
The second major section of the book is devoted to an explanation of the Biblical text. This is not a verse by verse explanation, but deals quite effectively with thought units, -- the key focus being on how Ecclesiastes can teach us about the needs of our civilization. ... Kelley's book deserves to be widely read and pondered.

Byron Snapp, The Counsel of Chalcedon, April, 1994, p. 18
Mr. Kelley does an excellent job of providing a Biblical understanding of godly wisdom and contrasting it with the wisdom of ancient Egypt and Greece as it centered on man and more particularly the power of the state over man.

Roy B. Zuck, Bibliotheca Sacra, April-June 1994, Vol. 151, No. 602, p. 246
Kelley rightly argues against the common view that Ecclesiastes presents "merely the personal ruminations of one man on the logic of the 'human situation as such'". Instead he says the book presents the fact that man's self-proclaimed autonomy from God results in a life of futility and meaninglessness and a culture that is self-focused, materialistic, and unwise.

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